LENO IS DEMS PICK IN STATE SENATE RACE

LOS ANGELES - Republican voters in Northern California's 4th Congressional District responded to state Sen. Tom McClintock's call for a return to conservative principles, making him their nominee to replace incumbent Rep. John Doolittle, R-Rocklin.

It was California's most hotly contested congressional primary, but in the end McClintock won easily Tuesday over former Rep. Doug Ose. He survived nearly $3 million in attacks from Ose that sought to portray him as a carpet-bagging career politician.

His win sets up a showdown with Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who came close to beating Doolittle in the 2006 general election.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, McClintock had nearly 54 percent of the vote to nearly 39 percent for Ose, who had been endorsed by former Gov. Pete Wilson.

Doolittle had long been the chief political power broker in the district that sprawls north and east from Sacramento, but was forced to drop his re-election plans after getting caught up in a federal lobbying scandal. His retirement at the end of the year created one of two open seats among California's 53 House districts.

Elsewhere, former state Sen. Jackie Speier secured the Democratic nomination to compete for a full term in Northern California's 12th district, where she won a special election in April to replace the late Rep. Tom Lantos, who died of cancer in February.

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The 11th Congressional District straddling the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area will likely present one of the most competitive general election contests in November but was quiet Tuesday. Republican Dean Andal and Democratic incumbent Jerry McNerney ran unopposed in their party primaries. McNerney ousted a powerful GOP incumbent in 2006.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her 10th term, easily beat back local Democratic activist Shirley Golub in San Francisco's 8th Congressional District. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Pelosi had 89 percent of the vote and Golub had 11 percent. Peace activist Cindy Sheehan is making plans to challenge Pelosi as an independent in November but was not on Tuesday's primary ballot.

STATE SENATE: In a race for the state senate, former Assemblyman Joe Nation, a San Rafael Democrat who was a member of a business-friendly caucus when he was in the Legislature, lost to Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, in a battle for the Democratic nomination for the seat held by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco.

Migden, hobbled by a record campaign finance fine and other problems, ran third.

SACRAMENTO: Political newcomer and former NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson now faces the real test: articulating a vision for the capital city that will resonate with voters as he heads into a runoff for Sacramento mayor after a bruising primary battle.

Johnson, 42, entered the race just three months before Election Day, forcing two-term incumbent Heather Fargo into an unexpectedly close contest.

He beat her handily, 47 percent to 40 percent, although neither candidate appears to have won the 50 percent needed to win outright, forcing a runoff in November's general election.

San Diego: Mayor Jerry Sanders fought his way to a second term on promises to keep the nation's eighth-largest city moving "in the right direction," but Wednesday he promised to reward voters with concrete results.

Standing in front of a work crew pouring asphalt, Sanders pledged to start borrowing money to fill potholes and repair water mains that have been left to deteriorate as the city struggled with a $1.4 billion pension deficit.